"The music on this release consists of the earliest recordings by flautist T.R. Mahalingam, a legendary figure in the Carnatic music of South India, one of the world's great musical traditions. Mahalingam, known as Mali to his legions of fans and admirers, was a musician who revered these traditions yet opened new realms, raising the flute to levels of voice-like expressivity. Portrait Of A Prodigy : His Early Years, 1940-50s reissues, for the first time, recordings from the mid 1940s to the mid 1950s and show Mali at the peak of his powers, his acclaimed technical skills and rich tone at the service of his immense melodic and rhythmic gifts. The majority of these recordings were originally released in the 78RPM SP format and feature him with two of his greatest musical partners, violinist T. Chowdiah and mridangam master Palghat Mani Iyer. First release outside of India and the first-time ever reissue in worldwide. Gatefold cardboard sleeve jacket plus inserts English-Japanese liner notes." (label info)